The Critical Importance of Workforce Management in Casino Operations
Interview with Phillip Upchurch
Director of Workforce Planning and Analysis, Ameristar Casinos

There has been much media coverage about the critical importance of utilizing modernized workforce management systems in the hospitality industry. Nowhere is this need more vital than in the gaming and entertainment business. Because of the inherent complexity of resort and casino operations, typically there are many areas where you can make meaningful productivity improvements while optimizing service levels.

Many gaming and hospitality organizations have labor management down to a fine art, seeing significant cost savings and improved performance through adjusting standards to reflect actual traffic patterns, particularly in regards to table games and restaurant operations. In fact, the best kind of workforce management system provides a rich repository of labor scheduling and business volume information that helps companies optimize operations on a daily basis. Phillip Upchurch is Director of Workforce Planning and Analysis for Ameristar Casinos, where he oversees a dynamic workforce organization operating in eight casinos in seven markets. Founded in 1954, Ameristar Casinos, Inc. is a leading Las Vegas-based gaming and entertainment company known for its premier properties characterized by state-of-the-art casino floors and superior dining, lodging and entertainment offerings. Ameristar’s focus on the highest quality gaming experience and exceptional guest service has earned it top positions in the markets in which it operates.

FocusED: How well received was your Labor Management System (LMS) by management and staff?

Upchurch: What we found is that there was initially a need to educate our team about the benefits of the system. We have now taken this to a whole new level where there is a lot of buy-in among the properties, from the GMs, directors, and department managers. You must set good standards in order to get 100% buy-in. And then fine-tune those labor standards according to industry best practices and specific property needs. Make sure everyone understands what the productivity level is every day and then continuously revisit these expectations.

FocusED: How does your LMS help you run your business?

Upchurch: When business volumes go up or down, we need to know how to react swiftly. Our system helps us to provide daily accountability for our workforce, challenging the operation by identifying opportunities and being more productive. It also helps us spot areas where we are not providing great guest service due to poor planning and scheduling, as well as ensure that the daily operation of the casino is in line with budgeted expectations.

Twice a year we make a full labor review at each property to make sure that our budgeting system is speaking the same language as our LMS.

FocusED: What are some of the ways that you’ve been able to improve accountability?

Upchurch: Our LMS is volume-driven and the biggest positive is the day-to-day accountability, enabling each property to determine what they need in terms of staffing so that they’re doing the right thing. And the next-day reporting gives GMs something to talk about, as they make contact with every department and review how we’re doing. Each manager is held accountable and every department is compared to the forecast to find out whether a particular department is short-staffed or over-staffed so that we can make changes to mitigate any issue.

We also utilize the labor report to fine-tune staffing needs and then provide a next-day report to each department manager to find out how they did.

FocusED: How does your LMS impact the quality of service to your guests?

Upchurch: With our LMS we can ensure proper staffing levels through more accurate forecasting of business levels, then planning for those business volumes and executing that plan on an hourly basis. It helps us identify areas of concern or opportunity prior to the schedules being posted while allowing enough time to correct the issues. It also identifies issues after the fact to ensure we learn from the experience and do not make the same mistake again. Most importantly, the system allows us to be more flexible as our business grows, as well as retract, to ensure we provide consistent great guest service while keeping expenses to a minimum.

FocusED: What effect has your LMS had on your employees?

Upchurch: By identifying the time periods where incremental staffing is required, we ensure Team Members receive a schedule that works well for their lifestyle while ensuring we deliver consistent, great guest service. We know the business volume goes up after 5-6 p.m. and on weekends after 9 p.m. Team Members value the variability in scheduling provided by our LMS. We care about our Team Members and want them to have a balanced work and home life. This balance is possible because we can better identify where there is an incremental need for labor in each department.

Our team members now receive a consistent schedule unless some level of variability has been agreed upon. We are also able to schedule staff according to the planned levels of business which ensures proper coverage. And we focus on key contact points throughout the organization. Each department area receives a daily labor report. We also utilize KBIs, which drives labor in every job class.

FocusED: What impact has your LMS had on labor costs?

Upchurch: We have been able to make many changes that impact costs because of our LMS, enabling us to utilize staff in the best way possible. When we added kiosks, this reduced transactions in each cage, which had an instant impact on the amount of labor we need. We’ve also been able to reduce labor costs by switching over to a coinless ticket-in/ticket-out system.